News and Media Releases

A Victorian-based registered tax agent, Brendan Harty was today sentenced to seven years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and nine months in the County Court of Victoria. Mr Harty pleaded guilty to multiple counts of dishonestly obtaining $912,637.00 and attempting to obtain a further $46,029.00.

On 14 December 2017, 45-year-old Stephen Michael Remiens, was sentenced in the District Court of Queensland to two years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to child pornography offences.

Suspended Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer, 46-year-old Benjamin Hampton, was today sentenced by the District Court of New South Wales to a term of imprisonment of 22 months, to be released after serving a period of 11 months. Mr Hampton pleaded guilty to dishonestly receiving approximately $7,000 in cash as a reward for releasing information from a secure AFP database.

A Nigerian national, 34-year-old Jackson Igwebuike was sentenced on 25 October 2017, after being found guilty by a jury of importing 8.5 kilograms of methamphetamine into Australia.

Igwebuike was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court to 10 and a half years imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of six and a half years—including the two years he had already served since his arrest.

On 17 February 2017 Mr Raymond Clifford Osborne’s criminal convictions were overturned and he was acquitted of all charges by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

Japan based shipping company, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha Ltd (NYK), was convicted and fined $25 million today in the Federal Court of Australia. It was the first modern criminal prosecution of cartel conduct in Australia.  The cartel involved collusion in fixing the freight rates and market shares for the international shipping of motor vehicles to Australia.

On 12 February 2016, Mr Jared Brown was convicted by a Victorian County Court jury of two charges of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.  The charges related to the importation of 48kg of pure methamphetamine into Australia.  The methamphetamine was concealed in motor vehicle engines, which were imported into Melbourne from California. 

On 5 September 2016, MHK a juvenile at the time of the offence, appeared before the Victorian Supreme Court in Melbourne where he pleaded guilty to a charge of doing an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.  At the time of his arrest, MHK was in the process of constructing as many as seven pipe bombs and at least one pressure cooker bomb.  He was following precise and

Perth accountant, Peter Stamatopoulos, was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years on Thursday 22 June in Perth District Court after pleading guilty to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage of more than $2m. Mr Stamatopoulos lodged fraudulent tax returns on behalf of family members and clients without their consent or knowledge.

Waste management company Cleanaway has been convicted and fined $650,000 over a chemical fire in Adelaide that injured an employee.

Judge Geraldine Davison handed down the penalty in the District Court of South Australia today following an investigation by federal work health and safety regulator Comcare.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Townsville office will be closed today (27 March 2017)  given the impending crossing of Tropical Cyclone Debbie in North Queensland tomorrow morning.

Today, two men, Omar Al-Kutobi and Mohammad Kiad were sentenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales by the Honourable Justice Peter Garling, for conspiring with each other to carry out acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. Al-Kutobi  and Kiad were each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.